Typically, shopping carts and luggage carts have front wheels mounted on swivel casters and back wheels mounted on fixed journals. When such a cart is brought to a resting position on a downwardly sloping surface, the cart tends to roll downwardly, unless the cart is held back by a user or one or more of its wheels are braked.
It has been known to provide such a cart with a brake arranged to act on one of the back wheels of the cart so as to prevent the cart from rolling forwardly or backwardly. It can be sometimes difficult for a rushed user to release the braked wheel, particularly under crowded conditions in a retail store, in a parking lot, or in an airport, railway station, or other transportation terminal.